China is building a network of Ultra High Voltage power lines to move electricity long distances. They even have plans to build UHV lines to Germany so they can sell the Germans cheap electricity generated by coal.

“There are 2300 new coal plants with 1400GW of capacity planned worldwide”

“China’s proposed investment in long-­distance, ultra-high voltage power transmission lines will pave the way for power exports from China to as far away as Germany.”

While UHV has been used in Russia and other counties in the past, China is perfecting it. The US grid, for example, operates at 500kv or lower.

UHV allows the transmission of very large amounts of electricity with more efficiency. What are the advantages of UHV?

Increased Transmission Capacity: A single 1000 kV UHV-AC circuit can transmit +/-5 GW, approximately 5 times the maximum transmission capacity of a 500 kV AC line. An 800 kV UHV-DC transmission line is even more efficient, with a capacity to transmit 6.4 GW.

Extended Transmission Distance: A 1000 kV UHV-AC line will economically transmit power distances of up to 2,000 km (1240 miles), more than twice as far as a typical 500 kV AC line . An 800 kV UHV-DC power line can economically transmit power over distances of up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles).

Reduced Transmission Losses: If the conductor cross-sectional area and transmission power are held constant, the resistance losses of a 1000 kV UHV-AC line is 25% that of the 500-kV AC power line. The resistance loss of an 800 kV UHV-DC transmission line is an even more remarkable 39% of typical line power erosion.

Reduced Costs: The cost per unit of transmission capacity of 1000 kV UHV-AC and 800 kV UHV-DC transmission is about 75% of 500 kV AC costs.

Reduced Land Requirements: A 1000 kV UHV-AC line power line saves 50% to 66% of the corridor area that a 500 kV AC line would require. An 800 kV UHV-DC line would save 23% of the corridor area required by a 500 kV DC line.

1,000 more coal power plants for China. And then power exports all the way to Germany.

Coal!!!!

China’s proposed investments in long-distance, ultra-high voltage (UHV) power transmission lines will pave the way for power exports as far as Germany, the head of the national power grid said on Tuesday as he launched an initiative for cross-border power connections

Exporting power to central Asia and beyond falls into China’s “one belt, one road” ambitions to export industrial overcapacity and engineering expertise as it faces slowing growth at home. The plan would allow enormous hydropower dams, coal-fired power plants and wind farms in frontier regions such as Xinjiang to sell into higher-priced markets overseas. The “belt” refers to the land route from Asia to Europe, while the “road”, curiously, refers to the sea route via the Indian Ocean.

Talk of exporting power is a reversal for China, which as recently as 2004 suffered rolling blackouts across its manufacturing heartland. But huge investments in power in the decade since, and the construction of a number of dams, nuclear reactors and coal-fired plants due to begin operating in the next 10 years, mean the country faces a growing surplus.

Liu Zhenya, chairman of State Grid, told reporters that wind and thermal power produced in Xinjiang could reach Germany at half the current cost of electricity there. “There are so many resources, but no market. We need to find it externally.”